Staycations up nearly 25% this summer
Online searches and bookings for staycations have jumped by almost 25% this year, according to research by travel marketing group Sojern.
Its latest data, based on searches and bookings made between October 2016 and January 2017 to depart in June to August 2017, showed a 23.8% year-over-year increase in UK travellers planning 2017 summer trips within the UK.
It also found over half of UK travellers planning to stay closer to home this summer are planning short trips of up to 3 days, a 8.8% increase over last year.
Sojern also noted a 5.2% drop in the number of UK travellers planning a staycation of 12 days or more, however this group still accounts for 16.6% of the total.
Of those still planning to go abroad, Spain continues to be the top destination for UK travellers.
But France has been knocked out of the top five destinations this year, having been in third place last summer.
Italy and Greece both move up a spot and Portugal is a new entrant in the top five destinations this summer.
When it comes to UK tourism, the US is still the top origin for travellers to the UK this summer, followed by the domestic market, Spain, Italy and Australia.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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